Why I Became a Financial Advisor By Terry Sawchuk
Most of us can point to specific people or events that influenced our decisions and made a significant impact on how we live our lives. For me, it was the example of my grandparents that motivated me to become a financial advisor. As I got older, my grandfather and I spent many hours talking about his values, perspectives, finances, and investments, and the challenges and opportunities people have as they move through life. I gained a fascination with the financial industry, and that, coupled with how comfortable I was interacting with people from older generations, inspired me to become a financial advisor.
I saw that not everyone was equipped with the tools to succeed financially, and I wanted to play a part in improving people’s lives, helping them make the most of their money and protecting them from being taken advantage of as they grow older and less confident in their options.
First Career Steps
When I entered my college years, I knew I wanted to be in the financial business. I started an internship with a small financial firm when I was 19, while I gained valuable experience, I knew I needed better training. I decided to begin working for a larger company, American Express because they were known for their excellent financial planning training. What I quickly realized was that the training they provided had very little to do with financial planning but was primarily sales oriented. It became obvious to me that American Express was more interested in generating revenues than delivering quality advice and investments.
To this day, it’s hard for me to believe that the general public still does business with large companies whose logo is all over the investments and insurance products they recommend. It was at that time that I knew becoming an independent advisor was the best choice for me. I quickly moved on to a small independent firm where I was able to gain a better understanding of how the independent business worked and began to build my own client base. In 1997, I felt that I had gained enough experience and developed my own vision, strategies, and solutions, so I took a leap of faith and started my own firm.
My Career Today
Today, I am founder, chairman, and financial consultant at Sawchuk Wealth, a comprehensive wealth management firm that is devoted to helping successful families and businesses live their best financial life. I have spent the past three decades helping my clients pursue their financial and lifestyle goals and work toward financial independence, while also navigating life’s ups and downs.
Hurdles and Triumphs
I love what I do and am so thankful I get to spend my days making a difference in my clients’ lives. In my three decades of professional service, I have seen the industry evolve, have helped our clients through the two largest financial downturns since the Great Depression and have witnessed the greatest bull market on record. Technology has had an enormous impact on our business and continues to revolutionize my profession. Unlike many others however, to me, technology is not a threat to my business; it’s a tool that can and will be leveraged to improve the most personal of relationships. We embrace technology and welcome the changes that will absolutely improve our ability to deliver world class advice and service.
My greatest satisfaction comes from helping a client, who for whatever reason is facing a difficult challenge, by leveraging my experience, outside the box thinking, leaning on my professional relationships built on over 30 years of being an advisor and the sheer will to overcome adversity. Many times, the financial solutions we find have nothing to do with investments or insurance; we have helped our clients through a variety of situations that might fall outside the normal expectations for what a financial advisor would do, but when it comes to our client’s lives, we want to be an indispensable resource that they can’t live without.
What’s Your Story?
What experiences have led you to where you are today? What financial challenges do you face? Let’s discover the obstacles in your path and the dreams you want to make a reality. Call 248-269-9700 or schedule a 15 minute consultation call to see if we are a good fit for each other!
